Tag Archives: boycotts

It’s that time of the year for the Total Politics Best Blog Poll again and this year it is being supported by both Lib Dem Voice and LabourList.

As with last year, Tim Ireland is organising a boycott and as with last year I disagree. Nonetheless, I totally accept that the annual Dale blog poll has a problem in that it will inevitably have a certain Conservative bias. That doesn’t really bother me as I take all these things with a pinch of salt anyway, but it is nonetheless a problem.

I don’t want to get into a similar verbal punch up that I ended up in with Tim last year. All I will do is urge him, Sunny and the others who are refusing to take part to organise an alternative instead of a boycott. It would be interesting to see how the two polls differ and it might actually influence the media to look beyond the existing Tory blogging hegemony for a change. I’m sure plenty of people will happily take part.

It strikes me that that is a better use of time than bemoaning the existing one. I’d take part in it. But then I will also be taking part in the Total Politics one as well (indeed I already have).

Whatever your views on Brian Ferry’s barmy comments about the Nazis’ sense of style, I find it a little hard to see how boycotting Marks & Spencer can be seen as striking a blow against anti-semitism. Normally such boycotts are organised by anti-Zionists. Clearly they can’t win.